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Why We Love Sewing Skirts: Skirts are Easy to Sew

For a beginning sewist, learning how to make a skirt is one of the easiest ways to transition into garment making, and it’s also one of the best additions to your wardrobe. That makes it a win-win project! A basic skirt sewing pattern requires just a few pattern pieces (some require no pattern at all) and elementary machine stitching, so it’s also a great way to practice your sewing skills while also amping them up.

Featured Designs from the 49 Sensational Skirts BookSewing Skirts Your Way is a great workshop for information on how to sew a skirt for beginners, or for A-line skirt inspiration for more experienced sewers. Here are the other reasons we love sewing skirts:

Skirts are Easy to Fit

One of the biggest challenges of garment sewing is fitting and that often scares sewists off from making garments. However, skirts only require the hip and waist measurement, so it’s easy to make adjustments to a basic pattern if you need to rectify the hipline or waistline. You just take a pencil and redraft the pattern lines to fit you, attaching paper as needed for adding girth. Always remember to allow for at least a couple inches of ease in your waist and hip measurements.

Vintage Embroidered Skirt Pattern

You will want to be able to breathe and move in your skirt! Making a practice skirt from cheap cotton to check fit is always a good idea before you cut into your fashion fabric. We recommend 49 Sensational Skirts for tons of skirt sewing patterns, simple sewing techniques, and cost-effective ways to create fashionable skirts, including some upcycling.

You’ll find many styles to choose from in the skirt vocabulary.

There is the basic all-purpose A-line, the sexy pencil skirt, the easy breezy gathered skirt (check out the Vintage Embroidered Skirt by Rebecca Smith in Stitch Summer 2013 for a darling patternless version).

From there you can graduate to peplums, godets, inserts and more.

Embellish Away

Skirts also make a great canvas for embellishment, whether it’s beading, embroidery, passementarie ribbon design, surface design or any other creative element you want to add to your garment. The same skirt can take on an unlimited amount of looks with the addition of embellishment. For a cool embellishment DVD, check out Easy Embellishments: Pretty Ways to Add Sparkle to Your Wardrobe.

Make Your Own Skirt Patterns

Sewing Skirts Your Way Workshop Video
Once you find a basic skirt pattern that fits you well you will want to stick with it. You can always adjust a pattern to be shorter or longer, or add a ruffle. You can also make your own pattern by tracing off a well-fitting skirt from your closet. For a great video on how to make a skirt pattern, check out Sewing Skirts Your Way: Learn How to Make a Skirt that Fits You Perfectly.

Other Things to Know About Sewing Skirts

Most skirts require zippers, and an invisible zipper is usually recommended because the zipper won’t show. Sewing a skirt is a great ways to practice inserting zippers, and if you make a mistake you can always pull out the seam ripper. Zippers are nothing to fear! Just follow the zipper manufacturer’s instructions. You can always practice on a fabric sample first.

So go ahead and get your garment sewing started with skirts. You’ll never regret the great additions you can make to your wardrobe with unique looks sure to garner lots of compliments. Here are some of our favorite skirt sewing resources that we recommend you check out for ideas:

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